Family Ties
by moonymonster
Summary: When Protoman finds Mega Man broken and in need of repair in the Badlands, he takes Mega in just to fix him so they can fight, of course. However, what happens when Mega doesn't remember who he is, and Proto can start with a clean slate? [Completed.]
1. Prologue

_Please note: this story takes place in the Mega Man cartoon show universe. This means that Protoman was built by Dr. Wily and is 'evil,' and Mega Man was built by Dr. Light and is 'good.' Both have blasters installed only in their left arms, can gain a Robot Master's weapon simply by touching him, and are enemies. (Obviously.)_

_Other changes in this universe: Roll can battle using her multipurpose left arm (she tends to vacuum—yes, _vacuum_—robots to death), Dr. Light became English, and Dr. Wily became German. I have _NO_ idea why. _

_Some places in this story are pseudo made up, meaning I know and have been where I'm talking about but have renamed it. Why? 'Cause I can't remember the bloody name._

_This story is dedicated to Atreyu452 for getting me interested in the Mega Shows to begin with. _

**Family Ties**

**Prologue**

Protoman stared at the massive gorge in the ground, and gave a low whistle. It was huge, long, and very, very deep…

…and it hadn't been here yesterday.

Protoman started walking down the narrow slope, marveling at just how deep it got. Whatever did this had landed fast and hard.

He'd hate to be the one who fell.

Proto looked around again, and saw something interesting buried in the dirt. Squatting down, he picked up a shiny piece of scrap metal, and saw it was bright red. Curious, Protoman continued walking down the slope, and found more and more bits of shiny red metal and thin, sparking wires still connected to small gadgets he recognized from stolen schematics…

This was once Rush.

"Where Rush is, Mega Man is," said Proto aloud, and walked down into the deepest, widest part of the hole.

There he saw a blue boot buried in the debris.

Protoman swore to himself and started digging. He soon uncovered more and more of what he assumed was Mega—there wasn't much to base it on. Though the right side of Mega's body was pretty much intact, the left side looked like it had landed in the trash compacter and gone around for a few rounds. His left arm was half torn off, and his left leg was even worse. The only thing that had saved his head was his helmet, and it was torn in half as well, letting the boy's brown hair spill wildly over his closed eyes and scratched face.

Protoman simply squatted there for a moment, too shocked to take it all in. By all rights, his brother ought to be…

Dead.

"G…great…" he whispered to himself, still watching the few sparking wires glowing in Mega's left arm. "He's destroyed…nothing could…"

_I should be happy!_ he growled to himself. _He's—he won't—there's nothing to…_

Suddenly, Mega moaned. It was a soft, barely perceptible moan; anyone who wasn't paying close attention wouldn't have heard it.

Protoman heard it.

"So…you're alive. Great…now I can destroy you myself…"

Protoman stared at the face so similar to his own, and the incredible pain it showed.

"I'll—destroy you properly," he said, though he knew Mega wouldn't hear. "It wouldn't be worth it to hit you when you're down—I'll do it in battle, the way it _ought_ to be done."

He stared at the motionless body once more. Then he carefully gathered Mega Man into his arms, making sure there would be no more damage to the mangled body.

"This is just so I can fight you later, Mega Man. Don't think I'm going mushy on you—I'm just going to destroy you properly. I'm the only one who's allowed to, not some stupid fall. Guess that dumb dog of yours broke. Just remember—I am _not_ doing this just because you're my brother."

Still holding Mega very, very carefully, Protoman got on his hoverbike and rode to Skull Castle.


	2. Chapter One

**Chapter One**

"There. Finished."

Protoman surveyed his work and couldn't hold back a grin. Now that Mega was dressed in a gray shirt and black shorts, he looked as good as new—well, as close to new as he would ever get in Skull Castle. Protoman hadn't been able to get Mega Man's blaster to work, and he wasn't sure if the leg and arm would work well either, but he knew it was better than what would have happened had_ Wily _repaired him.

"Well, I can't fight you with your blaster down. Looks like I'm stuck with you for a while..." he paused. "Now how am I gonna explain you to Dr. Wily?"

The 'bot was still out cold, so of course he didn't reply. Protoman sat down on the table and thought aloud.

"Well, once Wily and I take over the world—which'll be easy since you're out of commission—I can force Dr. Light to repair you properly. Then I can destroy you in a battle, the way it _should _go. I'm still gonna destroy you, you know—don't think I'm going mushy on you just because you're my _brother_ or anything.

"Still, I have to think of some way to make Wily keep you here. He won't want his enemy running around alive…"

His monologue was interrupted by a soft moan. Mega's head shifted slightly and he moaned louder.

Instantly the thoughtful tone in Proto's voice changed to a harsh grate. "Nice to see you alive, _brother_," he sneered. "Feeling better?"

"Mmm…" Slowly Mega's eyes opened, and he blinked blearily. "Wha…"

The blue robot jumped, as though surprised to hear his own voice. He tried to lift up his hands, but only succeeded in lifting his right. His left stayed pinned to his side, and only twitched when he tried to move it a second time.

Mega seemed confused. "Where…am…I?"

"Skull Castle, _bro_," Proto growled, eyeing the blue 'bot carefully.

"Oh…" Mega Man paused. "Where's….that?"

"…the Badlands."

"Oh…I live in the Badlands?" The robot turned his head towards Proto. "Where's _that_? And…" he looked uncomfortable. "Who are you?"

Protoman blinked, and gave his brother a long look.

"I'm Protoman," he said finally. "Don't you recognize your own brother?"

Mega looked abashed. "I'm…sorry…this is just…so new…"

_"New?"_

"I was…just activated, wasn't I?" Mega's confusion was even more apparent.

Protoman's mind raced. Here was his brother who, if nothing else, was _acting_ like he completely lost his memory…but Proto doubted it was an act. With the damage the 'bot had sustained, Proto wouldn't have been surprised if the kid had permanent brain damage or something.

"Yes," he said quickly. "You were. Do you know your name?"

Mega Man frowned in thought. Then his face broke out to a small grin.

"Yes, I remember—Rock. My name is Rock."

_That was his first name,_ Proto thought, remembering the very first time he met Mega Man. _That was before the war started._

Proto grinned wildly and jumped off the table with a loud _clang_.

"Yep—you're Rock, and you're a lab assistant for our creator, Dr. Wily. You got damaged, so I fixed you myself."

"So…Dr. Wily is my father?"

"…Kinda. Don't call him that, though. He doesn't like it."

"Oh. Okay." Mega pushed himself upright with his right hand. "Why do my leg and arm hurt?"

"Like I said, you were damaged. It was the best I could do."

Mega Man winced as he tried to balance himself with his left arm, and quickly switched to his right. "Do you think it'll get better?"

"Uh…sure…"

"Good!" Mega felt for the ground with his good leg, then slowly let himself down off the high lab table. He started limping in Proto's direction, heading straight for a toolbox Proto had forgotten to pick up.

"Uh, Meg—Rock…"

Mega Man cocked his head in his brother's direction, but kept limping. "It doesn't hurt that much," he said, walking straight to the toolbox. He seemed to be ignoring it. "I mean, to wal—_YAAAAAH!!"_

Mega Man tripped over the toolbox and landed on his bad leg. Moaning, he pulled it up to his chest, hugging it tightly with his good arm.

"It…it _hurts_…"

For a moment Protoman only stood there, watching Mega moan on the floor. Finally he walked over and started gingerly rubbing the 'bot's back, thinking about the odd situation. Mega Man's loss of memory made sense, and so did the pain in his leg and arm, but blindly tripping over a toolbox anyone could see—?

Wait…blindly tripping over…

Blindly…

"Rock, can you see my hand?" He waved his hand back and forth in front of Mega's face, where the 'bot would clearly see it.

Mega let go of his leg slowly, and let it sink down to the other one.

"Um…what's seeing?"


	3. Chapter Two

**Chapter Two**

"How come Mega Man hasn't come back?" Roll fretted. This was the worst part about staying behind instead of going with her brother—the endless wait she had to endure before he came home.

"I don't know, Roll. He's not close enough for my tracking signal to pick up…but I can't imagine why he would go so far away!"

"Eddie should have come," said Eddie sadly. Dr. Light gave him a sympathetic look.

"Eddie, none of us expected him to simply _disappear_ when he took Rush out for a test run." Dr. Light ran his hands over his face, which had grown sallow as the hours progressed. "I should have kept a better track on them…"

"I'm going to go find them, Dr. Light," announced Roll as she grabbed Eddie. Before the man could so much as raise his hand to object, the girl strapped herself into her hovercar and flew out of the lab.

Dr. Light stared at the retreating car until it disappeared.

 #######

_"MEGA MAN!!"_ yelled Roll as loudly as she could through the speakers. Eddie groaned and tried to cover his hearing sensors, but Roll didn't quiet her voice. __

_"MEGA MAN, WHERE **ARE** YOU?!"_

"Eddie wants Roll to quiet down," Eddie whimpered. Roll only gave him a look before taking another deep breath.

**_"MEGA MAAAAN!!!"_**

 #######

After what felt like years later, Roll landed and Eddie could take a break. His body ached and he could still hear Roll's shouts echoing in his head, making him dizzy. The only thing that kept him from complaining was the look on Roll's face.

It was obvious she was going though more pain than he ever would.

"What should we _do_, Eddie?" she asked him dispiritedly, staring at the controls of the craft. "We've looked _everywhere_…"

Eddie didn't even want to mention it, but he had to.

"Eddie and Roll haven't looked in the Badlands…"

Roll's head jerked up, and she stared straight into Eddie's incredibly large eyes.

"You don't think he would be dumb enough to go _there_, do you?"

She paused for a moment.

"Yeah, he would. C'mon, Eddie—let's go see if we're right."

Eddie groaned, but settled back down in his seat. _At least_ _Roll will not yell anymore_, he thought.

"MEGA MANNNN!!" Roll shouted, making Eddie flinch and sigh. So much for no yelling.

 He tried to squish himself into his seat, hoping it would help blot out her calls.

"_MEGA MAN!!!__ IT'S ROLL!! ANSWER ME!!"_

Eddie groaned again. Nothing would block out Roll's yells—the only way to end them was for Eddie to find Mega Man all by himself. Then Roll would be quiet and they could go home.

The two robots were on the edge of the Badlands, and getting deeper into it by the minute. Eddie shivered unconsciously, but kept looking. After all, the sooner he found Mega, the bet—

Suddenly, Eddie saw a long, deep gorge in the ground. It didn't look like it was natural.

"Roll!" he said when she took a breath. "Eddie sees something down there!"

Roll stared out the window and eyed the gorge.

"I hope that isn't…" she began softly, and landed near the site.

The two walked out of the hovercraft and down the narrow slope. At first there was nothing but dirt, but then she saw pieces of red metal that glinted and glittered in the sunlight…and twisted metal bits of leftover robot…

"No…" she whispered, and picked up one of the larger pieces. It was the transmitter that allowed Rush to transform into any creation Mega Man needed. She recognized it because she had helped build it.

It was one of a kind.

"_No…"_

Eddie and the remains of Rush forgotten, Roll raced to the deepest part of the hole, praying, hoping she didn't see—

—crushed little bits of blue armor, mangled bits of grey metal, green and red wires left in the dirt, tiny bits of tan, plastic skin—

"_NO!!" _she screamed to the air. "_NO, NO, NO!!!_"

She fell to her knees, Eddie beside her. "This—this wasn't supposed to happen, Eddie—he—Rush's enhancement wasn't supposed to—this…"

She screamed.

 #######

"Did you hear something?" asked Mega Man suddenly. Protoman looked up from his tools and cocked his head at the blue robot.

"No, nothing."

"Funny…I thought I heard someone…"

Mega shrugged it off and waited for Protoman to bring back whatever it was he was looking for.

"What are you doing, Protoman?" he asked finally, growing impatient.

The red robot paused. "I'm just putting my tools away. After this I'm going to take you to my room and talk with Dr. Wily. You're gonna stay in my room, you got it?"

Mega only nodded, and waited for Proto's guiding hand. Protoman stared at him for a moment, then shook his head and got up.

"Okay, Rock, let's go."

Proto led the robot up the stairs and deeper into Skull Castle, carefully talking him though it as he tried to think of a story for Wily.

"Here's another step…good…that's it…good…there's about twelve more…good…"

"Protoman!" yelled an obnoxious and accented voice. Proto groaned and shifted his brother so he could turn to the source's direction.

"Cut Man," Protoman growled, glaring at the robot angrily. Of all the robots to first see Mega… "What are you doing here?"

"I was…hey, who is _that_? He looks familiar…"

"Don't you _remember_, Cut Man? This is _Rock_, Dr. Wily's _lab assistant._" he emphasized each fact, trying to make Cut Man follow the lie. "He got _damaged_ in a _lab accident_, so I repaired him myself."

Cut Man frowned. "But Protoman, Dr. Wily doesn't _have_—"

Proto groaned again. Why did Wily make the 'bots so _stupid_?!

"Sit down, Rock," said the red robot quietly. Mega nodded and sat down, balancing himself with his good hand.

Proto grabbed Cut Man and led him about twenty feet away, out of Mega Man's hearing range.

 "Cut Man, play along with this," he hissed. "That's Mega Man, and I'm taking him to Wily, understand? _Don't mention this to anyone, especially Mega Man._ He lost his memory, and I don't want an idiot like you jogging it back—not until we take over the world and I can beat him to a pulp. Got it?"

"Oooh," said Cut Man loudly. "Okay, I won't tell _anyone_."

"Tell anyone what?" asked Mega, confused. Proto smacked his head and glared at Cut Man, who looked away, abashed.

"Nothing, bro," he said, and walked back to the blue robot, helping him up as he got closer. "Absolutely nothing. Look, here's another step. Good…one more…"

Proto gave one last glare to Cut Man as he continued walking, nailing the 'bot to the wall with his eyes.

"Don't tell _anyone_," he hissed, though he knew Mega would probably hear him this time. Cut Man nodded, a hint of fear in his big, stupid eyes. All the Robot Masters knew when to listen to Proto and when to not, and this was definitely one of those times when one listened and listened _hard._

"I'm confused, Protoman," said Mega as he limped up the last step. "What is he not supposed to tell?"

"Ah…nothing, Rock, really. It's a thing between him and me."

"Okay…but it doesn't have anything to do with me, does it? It sounded like it did."

Proto blinked, and gave his brother a sideways glance. "You heard all that?"

Mega nodded. "Some of it, yes…wait, did I do something wrong?"

"No…you have better hearing than I thought you would, that's all. Anyway, here's the room."

Proto opened the door to reveal a small, spartan room. The only furniture in it was an old desk of Wily's, a creaking chair, and a worn cot. Proto winced, and was glad his brother wasn't able to see this. It was embarrassing enough having the twerp living in his room at all, and if he actually saw how threadbare it was…Well, Proto would just have to destroy him on principle.

"Okay, you're going to sit on the cot. You can lie down if you want to, but don't leave, got it? You might trip on something again, and you remember _that_."

Mega nodded fervently and sat down on the cot, wincing as his bad foot hit the metal frame.

"I'll stay here, Protoman," he promised, rubbing the injured limb ruefully.

Protoman paused.

"You can call me Proto if you want," he said finally, then walked out the door.


	4. Chapter Three

_o.o;;; incest? Sorry, no yaoi in here…I dislike incest to begin with (you should see my reviews to folks who write Blues/Rock or Mokuba/Seto) so nothing sexual in this one. It's gonna be dark and painful (for certain characters, anyway), but not sexual._

_And pretty good? Darnit. I was hoping for "awesome characterization, just like the shows only better." ah, well…_

**Chapter Three**

"There was nothing left of either of them?" Dr. Light repeated, face white with shock. Roll nodded, her head hung low.

"All—" she paused, her throat too choked up to continue. Finally, she composed herself and showed him the remains. "A-all I found was…this."

Dr. Light gasped, staring at the bits of metal in her hands.

"This was the biggest piece o-of Mega Man I could find," she said miserably, holding out a piece of blue metal a little larger than her palm. It was a part of Mega's helmet, crushed and mangled beyond repair.

"D-Dr. L-Light…"

If she had tear ducts, the tears would have been pouring down her face like rain in a thunderstorm.

Dr. Light reached out and held her tightly, tears streaming his own face, listening to her sobs as she buried her face in his lab coat.

No one moved for a long time.

   #######

Proto peeked into Wily's lab, only to see him cussing in German as he repaired Bomb Man for the umpteenth time. "Stupid robots," the scientist growled, twisting another bolt in place. "Why can't they—"

"Defeat Mega Man?" Protoman finished. Wily turned to him, irritated.

"_Ja, _Protoman, defeat Mega Man. What do you want?"

Proto grinned.

"Well, since I've gotten Mega Man out of the way," he said, blowing on his fingers, "I figure we can take over the world now."

Wily blinked.

"What did you say?! _You got Mega Man out of the way?!_ Did you destroy him?!"

"Better," said Proto, grinning wider. "I found him out in the Badlands. He's weak as a kitten and doesn't remember anything. He doesn't even know he was created by Dr. Light."

Wily grinned as well, but the smile made him look sadistic and evil instead of happy. "We will use him as an example of what will happen if the people rebel." He petted one of Bomb Man's bombs fondly.

"Wait! Um…wouldn't it be better if we used him as a sort of trophy piece? You know, the whole 'we've caught your hero so listen up' bit?"

"We could do that just as well with him destroyed."

"But—this would be more of a—slap in the face, know what I mean? Besides, it gives us more of an advantage. We could use him as a bargaining chip. Make Dr. Light and everyone else do whatever we want, or else we'll kill their hero. They like him too much to disobey, right?"

Wily paused, considering Proto's argument.

"True. And it _would_ be fun to watch them as they see Mega Man reduced to doing"—Wily laughed insanely—"menial chores, wouldn't it?"

"Yeah! So…"

"He'll live, for now. Meanwhile"—Wily rubbed his hands together, his face filled with devilish glee—"We're going to reboot and repair every single Robot Master in this compound. Taking over the world will be easy now." Wily threw back his head and laughed insanely, his voice reaching high into the rafters of Skull Castle.

Proto grabbed a toolbox and got to work.

  #######

Rock waited in Proto's room, kicking the cot's frame with his good leg impatiently. His brother had said he would return, but he didn't say when…and now Rock was outright bored. Sighing, he laid down on the cot, supporting his head with his good hand and letting the bad one rest by his side.

"I wish there was something to _do_," he complained to the air after a while. "This is so…_boring!"_

"Are you sure it's really him?" said a thick and excited voice outside Proto's room. Rock cocked his head curiously at the door, frowning slightly.

"Yes, it is, Guts Man," said an accented voice. _That's Cut Man_, Rock thought. _That's the robot from before, the one Proto didn't like._

 "Protoman said we can't call him by his real name," continued the 'bot, "but he never said anything about making…_friends_ with him…"

The two voices laughed, and Rock felt a shiver run down his spine. The robots sounded anything but friendly.

"Helloo-ooo," called Cut Man as he opened Protoman's door, sticking his head inside. Rock shifted uncomfortably and sat up.

"Oh, it's just _you_, isn't it," laughed Cut Man. "See, we were looking for Protoman."

"He…went down to Dr. Wily's lab," Rock answered shakily. Before this he had complained about being bored. Now he just wished he could be bored again. He didn't know why, but he felt very threatened by the two robots.

"Oh, darn," laughed a thick voice. _Guts Man_, thought Rock. _That's what Cut Man called him_.

"Looks like we'll have to … talk with you instead."

Rock _definitely_ didn't like the sound of that.

"I-it's okay," he said. "I'm s-sure Proto wouldn't mind if you went down there to talk to him."

"Well, we'd rather talk to you any day," sneered Cut Man's voice. He was now on Rock's left, and Rock could hear Guts Man settling down on Proto's old chair. The chair cracked under his weight, and the big robot got up before he crushed the thing entirely.

"Looks like there's no room for us here," Guts Man said in his thick voice.

"Yes, let's go talk somewhere…_roomier."_

"R-really, I'd rather—_Hey! Put me down!!_" Rock began to struggle as Guts Man picked him up, but the big 'bot ignored him and carried him out of the room. Rock whimpered as his captor accidentally slammed his leg in the wall, but didn't cry out. Something told him if he screamed he'd get in a lot more trouble than he already was now…and more trouble was the last thing he needed.

"Well, Guts Man, where should we talk with him?" sniggered Cut Man to his left. Guts Man shrugged, making Rock wince again as his bad hand got slightly crushed by the movement.

"I don't want to—to talk at all!" he cried.  "Just—put me down, okay?"

"But _we_ want to talk to _you_," laughed Cut Man, and led the three into a dark garage far, far away from Wily's lab and more importantly Protoman. "We _really_ want to talk to you…"


	5. Chapter Four

_Peter Lorre, huh? Interesting. _

_I'm sorry for the lack of corniness; that was something that bugged the living crap outta me in the shows, so I removed it. (If you actually want 'dah corn', you might as well stop reading now. There are no puns or stupid jokes whatsoever in this story.)_

_And don't worry_—_another -Man will enter Rock's life..._

_...Eheheheh...don't worry, that's the only bad pun you'll ever see here..._Promise!

**Chapter Four**

****

Protoman sighed as he walked up to his bedroom. It had taken hours, but finally every single Robot Master was repaired, rebooted, and already outside to wreck havoc with Dr. Wily. Well, now all he had to do was check on the twerp and then—

"Uh…Rock?" he asked as he stepped into his room. "Where are you?"

There were very few places to hide in his room, and one clean sweep told him Mega Man definitely wasn't here.

Proto swore under his breath and walked back into the corridor. "The idiot went outside, when I specifically told him…"

_"STOP IIIIITTT!!" _shrieked a familiar voice suddenly. Proto's eyes widened and he raced down the hall.

"Rock? ROCK! Where are you?!"

"_STOOOOPPP!!!" _the voice screamed again, and Proto ran even faster.

"Shut him up!" he heard someone say as he entered a garage. "Or else Protoman—"

"Protoman will _what_?" said Proto very, very quietly behind the two Robot Masters.

Mega whimpered as he stared in Proto's direction, his eyes wide and filled with pain. "P-Proto…I—I tried…"

"We—he was—he wandered down here, was all. We was trying to get him out and he was yellin' 'cause—'cause we was hurting him by accident," Guts Man mumbled.

Protoman stared coldly at the two, and both started shuffling their feet.

"Get out of here," he said very softly.

Both Robot Masters nodded feverishly and stumbled out of the garage, giving Proto a wide berth as though he would attack them at any minute. In truth, Proto was seriously contemplating it, and wondered if he should just turn around and blow them both to pieces right now. Mega Man was _his_ responsibility.

"Big brother…" whispered a soft voice. Proto stopped looking in the two Robot Masters' direction and looked down.

Rock was draped over a couple of boxes, several new scratches and scrapes added to his face and body. He was also clutching his bad arm tightly, and Protoman could see that his left leg was bent at an odd and rather painful angle. Proto swore in German and scooped his little brother up.

"I _told_ you not to go outside, twerp," he scolded as he carried Rock back upstairs.

"I—I didn't. They came in." Rock cocked his head as Proto started swearing in German yet again.

"What do those words mean?" he asked, and repeated a few of them softly.

"Ah…nothing you should know. And don't say them again, okay?"

"Okay."

"All right…well, I'm gonna take you up to the lab and repair you again."

"Will Dr. Wily help too?"

_I doubt it_, Proto thought to himself. _It's bad enough to him that he's letting you _live_ here. _

"Mmm…maybe."

Proto carefully carried Rock up to a spare lab, and after making sure his brother was unconscious got back to work.

#######

Rock woke up in Proto's room, and found himself lying on his brother's cot.

"How ya feelin', Rock?" said Proto almost cheerfully. Rock moved his bad arm and leg and grinned. Before, they stung even if he just bent the limbs. Now they didn't hurt at all—all he felt was a slight itch.

"A lot better!"

"Good. I did some extra repair work, so it shouldn't hurt so much now."

"Yeah, it doesn't." Rock listened to his brother as he shifted around furniture, and cocked his head.

"What are you doing?"

"Arranging the furniture in my new room," came the cheerful answer. "Got some good stuff in a raid. And don't worry about the Robot Masters; I gave them some very specific orders not to hurt you."

"Really? Thanks!"

"No prob."

However, Rock noticed that Proto had stopped moving the furniture around. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"N...nothing. Just realized something, that's all."

"What?"

"I said _nothing_, Rock."

"O-oh. Okay."

Proto sighed and continued shifting the furniture, finally deciding on where to put his bed. He then moved on to his desk.

Rock sighed. "I wish I could help," he said softly. "I feel so…_useless_ right now."

"Don't worry, we'll find use for you soon enough."

For a while the room was silent.

"Rock," said Proto suddenly, "I want to warn you about something."

"Warn me?" he asked, cocking his head.

"Yeah." Proto cleared his throat. "You'll probably hear people talk about a man named Dr. Light and a female robot named Roll soon on the news."

"Those names sound familiar…"

"That's because they work against us," said Proto quickly. "You need to remember this, Rock. If Dr. Light ever gets his hands on you, he'll destroy you. He hates us."

"_Hates _us? Why?"

"Because…because he didn't manage to capture us."

"What do you mean?"

"See, Roll is actually our sister. Dr. Wily built us, and Dr. Light was his assistant. Then one day Dr. Light went crazy and tried to kidnap us all to use us in an evil plan. You and I managed to escape, but he captured Roll."

"That's horrible! Can we rescue her?"

"No, it's too late. He's turned her into…a warrior 'bot, you see. You _must_ stay away from both of them. Both would destroy or capture you on sight. Understand?"

Rock shivered. "Definitely, Proto. You won't need to worry about me."

"Good." There was an undertone Rock couldn't quite catch…a feeling of hope mixed with bitterness…but then the impression was gone as the desk moved to the left with a loud _scrrak_.


	6. Chapter Five

_Man! Roll doesn't get much sympathy, huh? Well, don't worry, she'll stop being a crybaby soon enough...__And I upload one new chapter every day around 4-5 pm Pacific Standard Time._

**Chapter Five**

****

"Dr. Wily and the Robot Masters have taken over New York City!" cried the reporter on TV as her cameraman panned the scene, taking in every single bit of damage done to the streets. "The police force has tried to stop them, but so far has been unsuccessful. _Where is Mega Man?!"_

Suddenly the reporter screamed as Bomb Man threw his signature bombs at her. She ducked under a pile of rubble, and screamed again as debris flew everywhere. Wily flew up on his Skulker, laughing insanely as usual.

"Bomb Man, pick up that camera," he ordered. The robot grabbed it from the gibbering cameraman and focused it on Dr.Wily's face.

"Citizens of the World, look to your new leader." Wily cackled again. "And this time, don't expect any saves by Mega Man. I can assure you he's quite… incapacitated at the moment."

#######

Incapacitated was right.

Proto watched with some amusement as Roc—no, _Mega Man_ attempted to clean the floors of Skull Castle blind. It was a pointless action, he had to admit—how could the robot clean what he couldn't even see?— but funny nonetheless.

"Hey, Protoman, lookit who's on TV!" cried a thick voice—Guts Man, victor returned from another raid. Proto turned only to see Wily's face grinning on the screen.

"Hand over control of all your cities and countries, or suffer the consequences," said the insane scientist dramatically. Proto shook his head and turned back to Ro—_Mega Man!_ He had to stop doing that.

"He's just doing his usual drill, Guts Man—only this time he's backed up on it."

Guts Man shook his head and stomped past R—Mega, tripping him as he passed. Fortunately Mega fell on his good side, so was able to get up quickly, glaring in Guts Man's direction.

"Sorry," grinned Guts Man, sounding anything but apologetic. "Didn't mean ta trip ya there."

"Better hope you didn't," growled Proto behind him. Guts Man cleared his throat and quickly walked away.

#######

"I'm sure you all are wondering where your precious Mega Man is," grinned Wily as he stared into the camera. He knew that thousands—no, _millions_—were watching him gloat, and he enjoyed every second of it.

"After all," he continued, "He is your great hero, and now he has abandoned you, hasn't he?" The mad scientist smirked. "Well, don't worry. You'll get to see him soon enough."

#######

"Protoman!" called Elec Man as he walked down the hallway where the two brothers stood. "Hey, Protoman!"

"Yeah, yeah, what is it?" Proto snapped back. Rock leaned on the mop, glad for an excuse to stop cleaning. He had wanted to be useful around here, but he never imagined that _this_ would be the result.

"Dr. Wily wants you and the twerp to go to New York City. You're gonna bring his armor with you and dress him in it. After all" —Elec Man snickered— "It's gonna be his big debut."

"What's he talking about?" asked Rock with a bewildered look on his face as Elec Man walked away. "Armor…?"

Proto cursed to himself, this time swearing in Japanese. Rock waited patiently until he was done, then cocked his head at his brother. "What's he talking about?" he repeated. Proto sighed.

"Well…you…usually wear armor in the lab to protect you from accidents. You didn't wear it when you got damaged, which is why you got hurt so bad. Wily thinks that…you're really advanced when it comes to robotics…so he's gonna put you in your armor and show you off."

"Really? I thought he didn't like me!" Rock grinned. "He _must_ like me a little bit if he's gonna show me off! Right?"

"Er…yeah."

Proto decided that was the most blatant lie he'd ever used in his life.

#######

"Here, Rock, I'll help you with this," said Proto as he carefully put Rock's armor back on. Somehow the kid looked…wrong in it, like it wasn't meant for him, which was strange. After all, practically since he'd met his brother the robot hadn't been dressed in anything else, even at home…so why did it look weird now?

"Um…Proto? Are you okay?"

Proto shook his head fiercely to make himself concentrate on the situation. It didn't matter what his brother looked like; the only thing that mattered was getting the kid dressed and ready for his 'debut,' as Elec Man had called it.

The two walked over to a stolen helicopter and got in. "I'm driving," said Proto unnecessarily as he jumped into the pilot's seat.

"Okay," answered Rock, trying to keep the half-helmet on his head as it fell off once again. "Argh...Proto, why do I have to wear this stupid thing?! It's hard to keep on and it's uncomfortable!"

Proto laughed. "You won't have to wear it for long," he said, grinning. He'd never thought of his own armor as uncomfortable, but then again…Rock had no memories of ever wearing armor. Proto had pretty much been born in his own.

_Mega Man,_ the red raider reminded himself wearily. _He's not Rock…he's __Mega __Man._

It was very hard to remember at this point.

#######

Rock scratched his bad leg carefully, the stupid armor chafing his skin. _Honestly,_ he thought, _you'd think this dumb thing would be more comfortable if I wore it so much._

He didn't even know the irony of his words.

"C'mon," said Proto's voice as they landed with a loud _thump_ in Rockefeller Plaza. " 'S time for you to get…er…shown off."

"Okay!" said Rock cheerfully, still trying to hold the blasted helmet on his head as he jumped out of the helicopter. He groaned as it fell off and clattered to the ground. "Do I have to wear that dumb thing?" he complained again. "It's not like it's doing anything _useful..._"

Proto tried to hold in a snicker. "Okay, you can just hold it until I tell you to put it on."

"Good!"

"This way," said Ring Man as he walked up, pointing to a studio to the left. "Studio 1-A is where the Head Honcho is filmin' the scene. Now all we need is the star!" Ring Man laughed and walked off. Proto rolled his eyes. Of all the irritating Robot Masters Wily had ever built, Ring Man was definitely in the top five.

"Me, right?" asked Rock, a wry look on his face. He, too, thought Ring Man was weird.

"Yeah, you," said Proto with a grin. "C'mon."

The two made their way over to the studio, then to the filming room.

"Rock, you, uh, sit here," said Proto as he pushed his brother onto a stool. The boy nodded and balanced himself, still holding his torn helmet.

"Oh, and put that on, okay?"

Rock sighed. "All right."

Protoman walked over to Wily, who was jovially setting up cameras to focus on his fallen adversary. "Dr. Wily," he said tightly, "You're not gonna call him his actual name, are you? I mean, to his face…where he can hear it."

Wily gave Protoman a look, and the red raider fidgeted.

"Fine, fine," said the roboticist with a shrug. "It's not that important—after all, only the _world_ needs to know who he really is."

"Great!" said Proto despite himself. "I mean…umm…"

But Wily was already walking away. Proto quickly walked back to his brother and helped him get properly positioned for the show.

"Lights…" called Ring Man as Rock fiddled with his half-helmet and Proto stood silently next to him. "Camera…"

Ring Man paused for effect.

"_Action!"_


	7. Chapter Six

_Mmmph...well, in this story I assumed that the Light robots have some sort of nervous system because they seem to feel pain in the shows. (And if they didn't, half the premise would be off--Rock wouldn't feel any pain at all, so the whole 'let's hurt him!' thing wouldn't really exist, ne?)_

_As to the helmet--if you remember in the Prologue I said that it had been torn in half from the impact. _

**Chapter Six**

"Welcome to the Wily Show!" snickered a familiar voice as the holovision turned itself on. Roll growled as Wily's ugly mug filled the screen. She tried to turn the blasted thing off, but it only turned itself back on again. She nearly swore as the newsbeam invaded every single monitor in the compound, including the ones that were controlling the security system for the lab's defense, switching them off. Now _she_ was the only robot defending Dr. Light—and though she was enough (she'd proven it numerous times as the Robot Masters tried to invade the compound) it meant she couldn't even _try_ to get out and avenge Mega Man, which frustrated and maddened her.

Dr. Light only watched impassively. He seemed to not care, as though he had finally given up.

"Today on the Wily Show we have a special guest!" said Wily, bringing their attention back to himself. "And I'm sure you're all _dying_ to know who it is."

The camera focused on a beaten figure.

The world stopped and stared, speechless.

"Yes," said Wily into the silence. "The one, and only…_Mega Man."_

Roll and Dr. Light stared at the screen in horror, and tried to put their thoughts together. Mega was there all right, but he looked…wrong. His helmet was torn in half, and his eyes wouldn't focus on the camera, as though he couldn't see it. He fidgeted uncomfortably, and rubbed his left arm with a pained expression as it accidentally hit the person standing next to him...someone horribly familiar…

_Protoman_.

"Oh, God…" Roll whispered. She no longer cared about Dr. Light's rule to never swear.

All she cared about was that her brother was in the hands of his worst enemies and she couldn't do a damn thing about it.


	8. Chapter Seven

**Chapter Seven**

"Can we leave now?" asked Rock, turning his head to his brother. Proto didn't respond, and Rock sighed.

"I guess not." He grunted and fidgeted with the helmet again, irritated at the fact that it simply _would not stay on._ Suddenly it fell off his head, and Rock reached out, leaning off the stool to try and catch it.

Unfortunately, he leaned too far and fell. Panicking, he grabbed Proto's scarf, hoping it would catch him in time.

It didn't work. Proto was dragged down as well as Rock, and Rock howled in pain as he landed on his left side. He continued crying and whimpering as Proto scooped him up and carried him offscreen. Rock thought he heard Ring Man say something, but he really didn't care.

"It's all right, Rock, it's all right…" his brother whispered softly, rubbing the 'bot's back, trying to stop Rock's trembling and moans. "It's all right…"

"Cut!" yelled Ring Man's voice as he stormed over and grabbed Rock, nearly tearing Proto's scarf in half in the process since the injured 'bot wouldn't let go. "_Whaja do that for, you rotten little brat?!? You ruined the whole scene! I was going for a closeup—"_

Protoman cleared his throat, and Ring Man realized who was connected to the yellow cloth still clutched in Rock's hand.

"Let go," said Proto in a soft, deadly voice. Ring Man instantly obeyed, dropping Rock to the floor and backing away quickly. Proto managed to catch Rock in midair, cradling the whimpering 'bot in his arms. Rock clutched Proto's scarf tighter, his face contorted from the pain. He couldn't think about anything else. His world was nothing but pain, pain, pain…

"Why is this hurting you so much?" whispered Proto, staring at his brother. "I _repaired_ you…it shouldn't be _this_ bad…"

Rock only whimpered in reply.

No matter what language it was in, the cry was the same.

"I can't believe it!"

"Mega Man is _alive_?"

"But how'd he get so damaged?"

"How are we going to beat Wily now?!"

"Let's just bomb that _loco_ to death and be done with it! The Army has enough firepower to do _that _at least!"

"But we'll kill Mega Man!"

"Better him than us!"

And the most important and unspoken cry:

_What do we do now?!_

No one knew the answer.

Without their common defender, the people of the world couldn't unite and fight. They'd grown so used to his support that they'd come to depend on it, and now no one could defend themselves.

Roll was going to change that.

Now _she_ would be the defender.

Dr. Light had tried to convince her otherwise. He had said, Roll, you're all I have left! I can't lose you too!

But Roll wasn't going to listen. Not this time. Wily had gone too far.

Seeing Roll couldn't be detained, Dr. Light had helped her create her own armor. Though they didn't have enough time to convert her multipurpose arm into an actual blaster, they _did _manage to install a nice laser. Roll was also equipped with titanium armor and helmet, all colored red.

The color of anger, the color of passion.

The color of _blood._

Roll hoped to see Wily's blood on it. She swore she would.


	9. Chapter Eight

_Before I explain my view on the Three Laws:_

_I am so, SO sorry I didn't update on time yesterday! My friend and I went to the mall (or rather, the two story Barnes & Noble bookstore stocked with manga BESIDE the mall) for the day and I forgot to upload before I left the house. Don't worry, though; I'm uploading Chapter Eight right now (obviously) at ten PM Pacific Standard Time, and shall upload Chapter Nine around five PM PST tomorrow._

_Anyway, as to the Laws:_

_The Three Laws of Robotics only apply in Isaac Asimov's books and short_ _stories. I don't believe they exist in the Mega Man universe because of simple facts:_

_1) _

_The Robot Masters break the First Law constantly because they willingingly leave Dr. Light and other humans in dangerous and occasionally deadly situations. (Remember, the First Law states that "a robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm." I'd say the murder attempts on Dr. Light [ i. e. when Wily builds that rediculous walking sea lab thingy and the Robot Masters don't try to save Dr. Light's life] would count.)_

_2)_

_The Robot Masters break the Second Law because they will only obey Dr. Wily instead of any human who orders them around. (The Law doesn't state that the human doing the ordering must own the robot; it simply states that the robot must always obey humans...and Protoman breaks the Second Law constantly, if you've noticed_—_he even says so: "Sure, I'll obey you, Dr. Wily_—_when **I **want to." In reply Wily only says he should have planted more humility chips in Proto_—_he never said he should strengthen the Second Law.)_

_3)_

_The Robot Masters break the Third Law because they will save themselves before helping humans_—_even to the point of abandoning Dr. Wily! _

_Also, while Dr. Light rants about Mega Man's goddamn 'self determination' (God I hate that man) he also harps on how Mega Man's moral sense keeps him in check. He never mentions the Three Laws, which to me means this world doesn't HAVE the Three Laws. _

_Anyway...sorry about my longwinded author's note...enjoy chapters Eight and Nine! (And be really, REALLY grateful I'm uploading Nine today...trust me...)_

* * *

**Chapter Eight**

"I—I'm sorry," Rock whispered four hours after the taping scene in Wily's lab. He was sitting on another lab table, dressed in his normal clothes.

"It's okay, bro," said Proto in reply. "When you were out I checked your insides—somehow your pain receptors got turned on high. Did anyone fiddle with you lately?"

Rock was silent.

"I…don't know," he said finally. "I…when I fall asleep…sometimes I—_feel _people around me, but…"

Protoman swore, this time in Chinese. His vocabulary for swearwords was rather extensive.

"Whoever invaded my room while I was gone to tinker with you is gonna _die_. They ALL have specific orders to _not enter my room!_"

Cut Man, who had walked into the room just as Proto uttered his threat, cleared his throat and walked right back out again. Just at that second Snake Man entered with a soft hiss.

"Wily wantsss you to go to the California Beach State Park to locate hidden weaponsss."

"Where's that?" asked Rock.

"In Ssssothern California. You have to leave immediately."

Proto swore and decided to deal with the perpetrator later. "C'mon, bro," he said, grabbing the boy's hand and leading him into a garage where the stolen helicopter sat. Rock nodded and settled back in his chair, and the two were soon in the air.

#######

"Roll, I don't want you to—"

"I'm _going_, Dr. Light. Now give me some information on Protoman! I know he's going west—everyone's seen him flying—but where is he going?"

Dr. Light paused, then sighed. "The 'copter he's flying has a tracker. From the projected path, he's going to the California Beach State Park."

"…Why?"

"I suppose because there are rumors of hidden weapons there." Dr. Light ran a hand over his pale and shadowed face. "But please, Roll—"

"I'm sorry, Dr. Light, but I _have_ to go. They…" she stopped. "Dr. Light, Mega…might still be alive. I _have_ to help him. He's my brother."__

"All….all right, Roll. At least take Eddie with you—he has some extra energy cans."

"Okay." Roll saluted, looking sharp in her new red armor, her high ponytail rising above her red helmet like an ancient soldier's feather plume.

Dr. Light watched the girl climbed into her newly armored hovercar, Eddie beside her.

"Don't worry, Dr. Light—soon I'll have Mega Man home and ready to be repaired. Then we'll capture Wily and end this war for good."

The new warrior took off and didn't look back.


	10. Chapter Nine

_Ignore Drill Man's lack of a weird personality. I never saw him in the shows and besides, two corny Robot Masters are more than enough for me, thank you very much._

**Chapter Nine**

"Where're these stupid weapons supposed to be?" Proto snapped at Guts Man after he landed. Guts Man shrugged.

"That's why Dr. Wily wanted you to come. Cut Man and me can't find any!"

"Then why are we here?! There must _be_ none if you can't find them!"

"No," said a new voice. Drill Man stood behind them, arms—drills?—crossed. "There is an unknown energy source here, but no one can locate it." One of Drill Man's drills whirled impatiently.

"Hmph. So the old man wants _me_ to look for it. Figures." Proto turned to Rock. "Listen, you stay by the helicopter, okay? These idiots couldn't find their noses in a mirror, so I have to find it for them. This'll probably only take a few minutes." Smirking, Proto walked off, an irritated Drill Man following him.

Rock sighed and settled down into the helicopter's chair. He was just closing his eyes for a nap when he felt a huge hand grab his good arm and another cover his mouth. He tried to scream, but only managed to make a few muffled cries. _Proto must be too far away to notice!_ he thought, panicked. He tried to scream again, tried to bite his captor, tried _anything_, but he simply could not get the arms to budge.

"Where should I put 'im, Cut Man?" snickered a horribly familiar voice. _Oh, no_, Rock thought. _Guts Man again—_

"I saw a nice place to…drop him off," said Cut Man, sniggering. "And it won't be _our_ fault the dweeb walked off a cliff..."

As soon as he heard that he tried to scream for help, but no one heard him through Guts Man's hand. He was helpless.__

Rock could hear Guts Man's and Cut Man's feet crunching on the gritty sand as they walked and felt a cold sea breeze. They were near the cliff mentioned now—Rock could hear the waves crashing below. _Oh no, please,_ **_no!_**__

"We should gag him," said a new voice. Rock tried to place it, and realized with horror that it was Drill Man.

"Good idea." Rock felt a strip of cloth being torn from his tee shirt just as Guts Man lifted his heavy hand from Rock's mouth. Rock opened wide to scream, but the wad of cloth was stuffed inside before he could make a sound. He whimpered as he felt the cool breeze again and the crashing of the waves grew louder. Guts Man held him by the head over the cliff, and snickered.__

"Oops, I dropped him!" cried Guts Man as he let Rock go.

Rock tried to grab the cliff's wall as he fell, but couldn't get a purchase on any of the crags. The smooth sandstone was _too_ smooth—there were no handholds for him to grab, nothing that would save—

Suddenly, his hand caught a ledge of sandstone. Rock grabbed with the other hand and realized it was an entrance to a small cave. Without a second thought he yanked the rest of himself in while the three Robot Masters above him shouted in fury.

"Someone go get him!" yelled Cut Man. Rock crawled further back into the cave and found it got deeper and deeper. Maybe—

He heard a drill roar above him, and involuntarily gasped, nearly choking on his gag. As he crawled he spat the rag out, then realized he was at the end of the cave, that he could go no further—

The drilling grew louder, and Rock knew Drill Man would be here soon with more direct methods of destruction. Panicking, he buried himself into the back of the wall, hoping, praying Proto would come in time—

Then his left arm _burned_.

It was a pain he'd never felt before. It was like his hand was trying to change, to _morph_, and there were gears stuck in the middle.

Rock moaned as the pain grew more and more intense, and with a loud scraping of metal his hand pulled itself into his arm to form a hollow hole. Rock had no idea what was going on—he only knew that now his left arm hurt even more, that an unbearable heat was growing, charging, ready to blast out at any moment…

"GOTCHA!" yelled Drill Man, dropping into his sanctuary. "Now you'll—"

But he never finished his sentence. Rock's arm exploded in sheer pain as a hot jet of—of—_something_—blasted out of the hole where his hand used to be. Drill Man fell backwards out of the entrance of the cave and down to the crashing waves below. The backlash from the blast knocked Rock backward, straight into the wall of the cave, which gave in under the force, and Rock fell down a new tunnel, screaming—


	11. Chapter Ten

_Please note: Tomorrow I'm going on a plane to Virginia to visit my friend, and since I live in California my uploading schedule is going to be totally screwed up. I'll try to upload at my usual time, but I've got no idea what Kathy has planned for me, so we'll see what happens. If I _do _miss uploading tomorrow, I'll upload both chapters Eleven and and Twelve on Sunday to make up for it. (Now you see why I wanted to make sure Chapter Ten would be uploaded by Friday? I'd hate to leave a cliffhanger like THAT one on you guys!)_

**Chapter Ten**

"Dr. Light said Protoman was last seen here, Eddie," said Roll quietly, landing inside a convenient cave. The cliffs seemed to be full of them, carved out from millions of years ago when the ground was only an ocean floor.

"Eddie doesn't want to go," whimpered Eddie. Roll sighed as she got out of the car.

"Don't worry, Eddie—I want you to guard the car. Just give me an energy can before I go, okay?"

"Okay!" Eddie threw a can to Roll, who took it and drank from it eagerly.

"Great," she said, crumpling it into a little ball and throwing it back to him. "I'll call on the communicator if I need you, okay?"

Eddie nodded, and Roll peeked outside the cave, trying to see if any—

"I thought I heard something," said a harsh voice. A Robot Master! Roll quickly hid behind the cave's mouth, knowing that an ambush would work better than an outright attack.

"You probably heard a rock fall or something. C'mon, let's keep scanning this place."

That was Protoman's voice! She peeked out again and saw the two turn around and leave. She formed her laser and prepared to jump—

_"Roll!"_ whispered Eddie. Roll glared at him.

"What _is_ it, Eddie?" she whispered back, still eyeing Protoman and his companion, trying to judge how many seconds she'd have before they realized they were ambushed and how to best use the time.

"The cave goes in deep!"

"_So?"_

"It might be an easier way to get to the Robot Masters!"

Roll thought for a moment.

"You're right, Eddie," she said at last. "I still have the advantage. We can see if it's connected to anything—I heard all these caves are like catacombs around here."

#######

Somehow Rock managed to land on his feet, though he immediately collapsed to the ground to rest. Panting, he gingerly rubbed his left arm.

"What…_happened…?"_ he whispered to himself. The hole was still there, and Rock bit back a cry as he felt the metal bits inside scrape and crash against each other as the hole disappeared and his hand reformed. This time it wasn't as painful, but he didn't know if it was because it was the second time the transformation occurred or just because he was getting used to it.

_How can I get used to it?_ he thought. _I don't even know what_ **it** _is! Sure worked on Drill Man, though…_

Rock flinched at the memory, and decided that the—the...what should he call this thing? It wasn't a gun, or a laser, but…

_Blaster,_ he decided. It seemed to fit.

Well, he wasn't going to use the blaster unless he absolutely had to.

"Where am I?" he asked the air, and felt his surroundings. He was surrounded by rocks of varying sizes, and the ground was gritty, probably from the sand. He pushed himself up and slowly felt his way forward, trying to find a way out.

Suddenly he heard footsteps behind him. They were too light to be Proto's, and didn't match the heavy poundings of Guts Man or the quick snaps of Cut Man. Still, it was best to find a place safer than here.

He carefully felt around for a tall rock to lean against and found it just as the footsteps stopped about ten feet away. He felt a bit more comfortable with his back against a wall, and waited fearlessly for the stranger to talk to him.

"Meg…Meg…_Mega Man?!"_ gasped a soft voice—young, female, and shocked. Rock cocked his head at her.

"I think you have the wrong gu—" he began, but was interrupted as the girl charged toward him and hugged him fiercely.

"I thought—we thought you were—well, of course you wouldn't be, you're too stubborn! Oh, it's so wonderful to see you, Mega Man!"

Rock pushed her off, giving her an embarrassed smile. "I think you have the wrong guy, miss," he said. "My name's Rock, not Mega Man. Who is he? Maybe I can help you find him."

"_'Who is he'?!_ He's _you!_"

"That's impossible," laughed Rock. "Did someone hit you on the head? I just told you, my name's _Rock_." He cocked his head at her. "Hey, do you know the way out of here? I really need to find—"

"You must have lost your memory! It's okay, I'll take you to Dr. Light and he'll—"

"_Dr. Light?! _Are you _nuts_?! He'll destroy me!"

"Of course he won't! He built you!"

"Yeah, like that'd stop him! He already kidnapped my sister!"

"He didn't kidnap me!"

Rock gasped. "You—you—you're Roll?"

"Of course, Mega Man! Now, c'mon—"

_"Get away from me!"_

Rock shoved her away from him and ran as quickly as he could, somehow _knowing_ how to avoid the rocks scattered about. He could hear Roll racing behind him, and ran even faster, though his bad leg screamed in protest.

"Mega Man, STOP! It's me! You know I won't—"

"I _said,_ get away from me! _PROTO!_ _HELP!!!_"

"Proto…?! Now you're _really _the crazy one! Stop it, Mega!"

"_Stop calling me that! My name is ROCK!"_

Suddenly Rock lost his footing and fell face down, his bad leg smashing into the ground. He moaned and forced himself to get up, and as he did so realized that his left arm had started to burn again.

_Oh no, not now, not now_, he thought. The last time his arm heated up like this, it had left him doubled over in pain, and if he had missed—

"Mega Man, _stop running!_" Roll cried, running faster. Rock screamed as his hand converted once again into the horrible blaster, already burning stronger than ever. The pain was too much for him to concentrate, and he tripped over more rocks, landing this time on his right side, facing the girl.

"_GO AWAY!"_ he shrieked, and fired. He heard Roll scream but didn't care—he just had to get out, get out, get—

"Rock!" cried a welcomed voice.

"P-Proto!" Rock gasped. "Proto, _help!_"

Suddenly Proto was next to him, helping him stand and letting him lean on his shoulder.

"It's okay, Rock," his brother said quietly.

"_Mega Man! Get away from him! That's PROTOMAN! He'll—he'll—"_

"Leave me alone!" cried Rock, clutching Proto's arm, trying to balance himself as he teetered dangerously.

"Yeah, Roll, leave him alone," said Proto very softly, steadying his brother with one hand while training his blaster on the girl. She only formed her laser in response.

"I don't know what you did to him, but I'm gonna take him home and have him repaired, and then you'll be sorry!"

"I think you'd better leave, Roll," repeated Proto as he prepared a charged shot. "You'll be destroyed if you don't."

"I don't run from bullies like you!"

Proto fired.

Roll dodged and fired back with her laser. Rock ducked and cried out as the laserfire scorched his good arm. He crawled behind some large rocks, trying to protect himself from the blasts.

"Oh no! Mega Man! I'm sorry—_AIEEEE!!" _Roll ducked more blaster shots from Proto and returned fire. The hot plasma and laser beams bounced off of the rocks and walls, and Rock trembled as he felt the pressure in the cave increase with each blast.

"_WE HAVE TO GET OUT!!"_ he screamed, standing up and racing between the two fighters. Both instantly stopped firing, panting.

"Rock, _get out of the way_!"

"Mega Man, help m—"

"No! We have to get out! The energy—can't you feel it?!" Rock grabbed his brother and pulled on his arm as the pressure increased. "This place is gonna _explode!!"_

"I don't know what—"

The pressure needed to be released. The place was going to blow up in a few minutes.

Grabbing Proto's scarf, Rock dragged his brother toward a passageway he sensed was nearby, knowing it led outside by the fresh breeze blowing in.

"Rock, what're you _do—"_

The cave exploded. The blast sent Proto and Rock flying into the passageway, and both were blown onto the beach. The rest of the cave collapsed as Roll raced for her hovercar to escape. A big rock hit Rock on the head, and he blacked out.


	12. Chapter Eleven

__

**Chapter Eleven**

Protoman groaned and rubbed his head. He blinked blearily and realized he was lying on a lab table.

Confused, he looked around, and saw he was in Dr. Wily's portable lab.

"Wha..."

"Finally," grumbled Wily. "You're awake."

"Dr. Wily? What're you doing here? Where's my brother?" he asked, jumping off the table.

Wily waved an impatient hand. "He wandered off somewhere. Now help me modify this controller, I want to—"

Proto was already gone.

#######

"There you are!"

Rock turned his head as he heard Proto walk towards him. "Hi, big brother," he said softly, aimlessly trailing a pattern into the dirt with his feet. Proto sat down next to him, and Rock sighed.

"Proto…I wanted to ask…"

"About Roll?"

"…Yeah. She wasn't…I thought she'd be…more…"

"Evil?" Proto said in a wry tone.

"Yeah, but she was—nice…Proto, why did she keep calling me Mega Man?"

The abrupt change of subject caught Proto by surprise.

"Ah…probably because you look just like him."

"I look just like him? But…who is he?"

"Ah…he's…another warrior 'bot like Roll. Light built him once we disappeared. He…based Mega Man off of your plans, so she thought you were him."

"Oh." Rock absentmindedly rubbed his left arm. Proto gave him a curious look.

"What's wrong with your arm? Did those idiots screw with your circuitry again? Don't worry, you won't see _them_ around for a while…"

"No, it wasn't them…Proto, _what's going on?!_ First Roll attacks me, and—and she thinks I'm this Mega Man person, and then my arm transforms—"

"_Transforms?!"_

"Yeah—my hand pulled itself in, and—it was like my arm turned into a gun! It…it really _hurt_…"

"A—A gun?" Proto's voice became strained. "When did it transform?"

"When—when Drill Man attacked me, it transformed. And then when Roll attacked me."

"I…I see."

Rock rubbed his arm again. "I'm so confused, Proto! I don't understand what's going on!"

Proto didn't answer.


	13. Chapter Twelve

**Chapter Twelve**

That night Proto dreamed.

_He watched himself pick up Mega Man from a pile of rubble. "This is just so I can fight you later, __Mega __Man.__ Don't think I'm going mushy on you—I'm just going to destroy you properly…"_

_He watched as his double spoke to a body on a lab table. "Well, once Wily and I take over the world—which'll be easy since you're out of commission—I can force Dr. Light to repair you properly. Then I can destroy you in a battle, the way it _should_ go. I'm still gonna destroy you, you know—don't think I'm going mushy on you just because you're my _brother_ or anything…"_

_He watched as he left a room where his brother waited patiently. "You can call me Proto if you want…"_

_He watched as he walked up to Dr. Wily in a studio, and with eyes showing slight worry (though no one could see) said, "Dr. Wily, you're not gonna call him his actual name, are you? I mean, to his face…where he can hear it…"_

_He watched as his reflection cradled his brother in his arms. "It's all right, Rock, it's all right…"_

_He watched as his double sat next to his brother, looking at him protectively. "Did those idiots screw with your circuitry again? Don't worry, you won't see _them_ around for a while…"_

_He watched as his brother said, "I'm so confused, Proto! I don't understand what's going on!"_

_His reflection stood up and left Rock sitting on the ground. Rock didn't move, a living picture frozen in time. _

What are you going to do now?_ asked his double, staring at him. _You've won. You can take him to Dr. Light and get him repaired now.

...I...

Take him to Dr. Light and destroy him. That's what you wanted, wasn't it? That's what _we_ wanted.

...I...

Take him to Dr. Light. Take him _now_. It's time to destroy him.

...I…

You can't, can you? You can't do it. Idiot. Remember, he's _Mega __Man_.

_It was very hard to remember at this point…_

You forgot. You forgot he's your enemy. You got…_attached._

_His reflection said the word as though it was foul. A swearword of the worst kind._

But…Rock isn't…Rock's not an enemy…_his consciousness responded weakly. _Rock's…my brother…

Has that ever stopped you before? _It's time to destroy him._

_For a long time Proto stared at his reflection._

…No.

_No?_ That's what you were _built_ for! To take down Dr. Light! _To take down Mega Man!_

No. I…

You can't, you weakling. You idiot. You knew better, you should have left him in that hole. You stupid piece of scrap, you took him home instead, like a stray, useless dog. And you grew…_attached. _You…_care_ for him.

He's right,_ thought Proto. _He's right…__

_The image of Rock turned and looked at him. "I'm so confused, Proto…I'm so confused…"_

Me too_, he thought. _Me too.__


	14. Chapter Thirteen

__

**Chapter Thirteen**

Wily was furious when he found out that Guts Man, Cut Man, _and_ Drill Man had somehow become damaged beyond repair. He was even more furious when he found out Protoman wouldn't help rebuild them.

"You're my _possession_, and you will do what I say," he had growled.

Proto had simply left the room.

A little while later, he made his decision.

#######

It was night. Rock knew that because the air outside was cold, and he felt no sunrays radiating down.

"Where are we going, Proto?" he asked as they sneaked out of Proto's room and to the garage.

"To a safer place," his brother answered, helping him onto the hoverbike. "Now hold on to me, okay? I don't want you falling off."

"Don't worry, I won't let go." Proto revved up the bike and took off. Soon the two were high in the sky, flying over the Badlands slowly.

"Rock," said Proto suddenly, breaking the silence, "Do you…_like_ living in Skull Castle?"

"I've never lived anywhere else," answered Rock hesitantly. Proto was silent.

"But…not really," Rock admitted finally. "If you weren't there…"

His brother sighed. "That's the problem, Rock. I won't always _be_ there. I'll try, but I won't."

"It's okay," said Rock reassuringly. "I don't care, really."

"I do. Rock, do you know why your arm transformed?"

"Um…no…"

"It's a defense mechanism, like mine. And…it's not supposed to hurt when you use it. Just like how your leg and arm aren't supposed to hurt. Just like how…you're not supposed to be blind."

"I still don't get this blind business," said Rock, shaking his head. "I don't understand."

"You…will."

The way his brother said it…

Rock blinked as they landed. "Where are we?" he asked, smelling the air as Proto helped him off the hoverbike. It smelled faintly of chemicals, stored energy, and metal, and Rock could hear soft sounds coming from a building nearby. "It kinda smells like Skull Castle, but…"

"You're right. It's not Skull Castle. Rock…you're going to stay here. I'm going to leave."

"Okay. When will you come back?"

"…I won't."

Rock froze. Then his face broke out into a weak smile. "Th-that's a mean joke, Proto…"

"I'm not joking." His brother's voice was serious and strained. "It's too dangerous for you to stay at Skull Castle. You can't live there."

"But I want to live with you! I don't—"

"Sh…_shut up!"_ Proto hissed suddenly._ "_This is hard enough as it is without you—_arguing!" _The red raider got back on his bike angrily. Rock grabbed his arm and clung to it tightly.

"You—no, _please_, Proto! I don't want you to go! I—I don't care about the Robot Masters or anything!"

"Rock…you need to stay here!" Proto growled. He then took a deep breath. "I…lied to you. Roll wasn't…mistaking you for anyone else. Your real name is Mega Man, your creator is really Dr. Light, Roll is on the good side, and so are you! Now let go._"_

"_No!" _Rock clung even tighter to Proto's arm, refusing to give up.

"Rock, get offa me!"

"No! Please, Proto…I—I don't _want_ you to leave …can't you come with me? I mean, you're still…"

"I can't. That's all there is to it, Roc…Mega Man."

_"Rock."_

_**"Mega Man."**_

Rock took several deep breaths, trying to calm down. This was some sort of horrible joke, this wasn't happening, this was a dream…

"I have to go, Ro...Mega. I'll…see you around." His brother sounded bitter.

"P-Proto…"

"Let go, Mega Man."

"Then…before you go…" Rock put his hand on his brother's cheek. "Please...I want to know…"

Proto knew that blind people couldn't see, and the closest they came to it was touching an object and making a mental picture.

Rock had no mental picture.

Slowly he took off his helmet. Rock's hands wandered over Proto's face, feeling his nose, his eyes, his mouth.

"Just like me…" Rock whispered softly.

Protoman put his helmet back on.

"After I leave, go in," he ordered. He turned away, and slowly revved up the hoverbike. "And…I'll see you around…"

"I love you," Rock said softly.

Proto froze.

"L…later," he said finally, and took off.

Rock kept his face turned toward the sound of the hoverbike until it faded away. Then he slowly turned around and felt his way to the building's front door.


	15. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

It was a quiet night. Protoman sat next to his hoverbike, staring up at the stars. Unreachable, but nice to look at.

He heard the rumble of another hoverbike's engine, and turned to see Mega Man landing nearby, his hands raised.

"Wait, Proto," called Mega before Proto could shoot. "I don't want to fight."

"My name is _Protoman_ to you," Proto snapped. Mega Man flinched.

"Protoman, I..." Mega stopped, staring at his feet, and Proto waited, eyes narrowed.

"What?!" he snapped finally, growing impatient.

"I—I just wanted to tell you…thank you for taking care of me." He threw something at Proto's feet. "And…" Mega Man looked down, almost embarrassed. "If you come...I'd like it if you could call me...Rock."

Mega took off into the sky, and Proto followed him with his eyes. When Proto finally looked down, he saw Mega had dropped a package. Inside was a single piece of paper, and written on the paper was the password to enter Mega Man's home.

_Fin_


End file.
